Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, November 8th, 2023
The SAG-AFTRA strike is over. Hopefully.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, November 8th, 2023.
A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE
While there is voting that still needs to take place and details of the proposal to examine, it certainly appears that the SAG-AFTRA strike is on its way to ending. And that voting by the union's national board and then the full membership is why the union is referring to tonight's end to picketing as a "suspension" of the strike, not an end to it.
But I wanted to briefly take this opportunity to thank all of you. For your public support, for subscribing to and forwarding the newsletter and reaching out with feedback and tips. And a special thank you to those of you have been able to upgrade to a paid subscription. It helps keep the lights on and it also is another reminder that I am on the right track with TooMuchTV.
I don't want to sound as if I'm bragging, but I am proud of the work I've done through both of the strikes. I tried to be fair and not accept the lines fed to reporters from either side of the negotiations. I broke a number of stories and I am pretty confident in saying that I have consistently had some of the best sources of anyone at any outlet.
Journalism is no different than any other profession. There is a lot of competition and petty rivalries. So while the big Penske trades have seemingly went out of their way to ignore my coverage, it's meant a lot that I have heard from individuals there complimenting my work.
Being a one-man band can be a lonely job. All of you have helped make it so much easier. Although having a good copyeditor would probably make it easier on all of us.
And a final shout-out to my wife Stephanie and teenage son Sam, who have to put up with my irregular hours and constantly buzzing phone. You are why I do this.
Now back to TV.
'WE PROMISE TO MAKE FEWER THINGS THAT SUCK'
Both Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney had earnings calls today and I'm not going to recap the details because I suspect you've already read them elsewhere. But I did want to highlight this fine bit of executive doublespeak from Disney CEO Bob Iger:
“To achieve this, we are focusing heavily on the core brands and franchises that fuel all of our businesses and reducing output overall, to enable us to concentrate on fewer projects and improve quality while continuing our efforts around the creation of fresh and compelling original IP,” Iger said. “I’m devoting considerably more of my time to this with the goal of improving returns, always seeking to exceed the level of creative excellence audiences expect from Disney.”
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav has a similar "better quality" statement this morning and it's a similar refrain to the one that was used by Netflix head of original films in an interview earlier this week.
"We are going to make fewer films, but they will be of better quality." Which sounds great in theory, I suppose. But it assumes there is some connection between quality and the number of projects. And if that were true, the most successful studios would only make one great project per year.
What they are really saying is that they realize that some of their previous things sucked. And they want people to believe that somehow making fewer projects will automatically make the remaining productions less sucky. But the truth is, if you produce 3 great projects and 7 not-so-great ones in one year and only produce 7 in total the following year, you're just as likely to have eliminated the three great ones as you are three of the ones that disappointed.
SPEAKING OF THE SAG-AFTRA STRIKE
Much has rightfully been made of comments made by various streaming and studio execs about striking workers. But I don't know that any of them were as brutal as the quotes from an unnamed actor about some of their fellow actors in today's profile of SAG-AFTRA head Fran Drescher in The Hollywood Reporter:
DISNEY+ AND HULU ARE COMBINING....SORT OF
One of the stories that came out of today's Disney call was that Bob Iger provided a few more details for the new app that will combine Disney+ and Hulu into one interface.
Headlines were touting the services were "finally being combined" and more than one media analyst was touting their previous predictions that this would eventually happen. But "combined" is not quite accurate.
Granted, I haven't seen the upcoming Beta of the app, but according to Iger, you have to subscribe to both services through the so-called "Disney bundle" in order to use the app. Both services will still be available separately, but if you subscribe to both, this new app would be your suggested choice.
It's a bit as if Warner Bros. Discovery wanted to add Discovery shows to Max, but you had to also be a subscriber of Discovery+ in order to see them.
Reading between the lines, when Iger talks about this new app reducing churn, he really means it's an incentive for subscribers to pony up for both services.
All I can say right now until I've seen it is that it sounds like an interesting idea. And I am curious to see how Hulu Live TV integrates into this new app.
TWEET OF THE DAY
ODDS AND SODS
* The Taylor Sheridan-produced period anthology series Lawmen: Bass Reeves will air on CBS next Sunday at 9 p.m. after premiering on Paramount+ last Sunday.
* The new Chuck Lorre & Nick Bakay Bookie premieres Thursday, November 30th on Max. Here is a first video look at the series.
WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH:
* Artfully Designed Season Premiere (Magnolia)
* Culprits (Criminales) Series Premiere (Disney+)
* Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld (Netflix)
* Daddies On Request (Disney+)
* Escaping Twin Flames (Netflix)
* Feds (Investigation Discovery)
* Fixer Upper: The Hotel Series Premiere (Magnolia)
* In With The Old Season Premiere (Magnolia)
* Robbie Williams (Netflix)
* The Billionaire, The Butler And The Boyfriend (Netflix)
* The Buccaneers Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* The Claus Family 3 (Netflix)
* The 57th Annual CMA Awards (ABC)
* The Morning Show Season Finale (Apple TV+)
* The Santa Clauses Season Two Premiere (Disney+)
* Ultimate Cowboy Showdown: All Stars Season Finale (INSP)
* Vigilante Series Premiere (Disney+)
* You Were My First Boyfriend (HBO)
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH:
* Acuma Kun (Netflix)
* BTS: Yet To Come (Prime Video)
* Colin From Accounts (Paramount+)
* Loki Season Two Finale (Disney+)
* Mystery On Mistletoe Lane (Hallmark Movies And Mysteries)
* Rap Sh!t Season Premiere (Max)
* Temple Of Film: 100 Years Of The Egyptian Theatre (Netflix)
* The Croods: Family Tree Season Premiere (Hulu/Peacock)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU THURSDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.